The Mack Brown era at Texas will come to an end on Monday night as the Longhorns play No. 10 Oregon in the Alamo Bowl.

Texas will be looking to send head coach Mack Brown out on a positive note as it faces an explosive Oregon offense. The Horns had big aspirations heading into the season, but were wildly inconsistent. They looked terrific at times, winning seven straight Big 12 games, but also struggled losing consecutive games to BYU and Ole Miss that ended their national title dreams early in the season. Texas (5-6-1 ATS) is coming off a game against Baylor, where it scored just 10 points with 217 total yards, but was able to hold the explosive Bears to only 30 points. That game will be a good preparation for the Longhorns as they go up against Marcus Mariota and the impressive Oregon offense. Like Texas, the Ducks had dreams of making the national title, but were unable to reach that game after losing to Stanford followed by a shocking 42-16 loss to 19.5-point underdog Arizona. However, there is still a lot of firepower on the Ducks (7-5 ATS), but they must get their offense clicking back at the early season pace. Oregon is 0-4 ATS in its past four games, where it averaged only 29 points per game.

Texas struggled on the offensive end, ranking 36th in rushing (198 YPG), 56th in scoring (31.2 PPG) and 72nd in passing (225 YPG). One of the biggest reasons for its struggles has been the inability to get consistent play from the quarterback position. Quarterback Case McCoy (57% completions, 1,885 passing yards, 11 TD, 11 INT) showed his ability to be good at times, but also really struggled at times with five interceptions in late season losses to Oklahoma State and Baylor. The backfield of the Longhorns could not consistently stay healthy all season, but RB Malcolm Brown (774 rush yards, 9 TD) showed that he can be the star running back on a team. After Johnathan Gray (780 yards and 4 TD) went out to injury a month ago, Brown averaged 111.3 rushing YPG, while facing eight or nine defenders in the box. The Longhorns must get a big game from WR Mike Davis, (49 catches, 715 yards and 8 TD), as his big-play ability can help open up rushing lanes for Brown and the Longhorns. While the offense needs to play well, this game is going to be decided on whether or not the Longhorns can slow down the Ducks offense. The defense is led by LB Steve Edmond (73 tackles, two interceptions and one sack), but he is doubtful after lacerating his liver in the game against Texas Tech. Safety Adrian Phillips (71 tackles and two interceptions) has proven to be a very talented player, but the Ducks offense is as good as the Longhorns have seen all year.

Oregon ranks third in the nation in scoring (46.8 PPG), ninth in rushing (278 YPG) and 20th in passing (295 YPG). Quarterback Marcus Mariota (3412 pass yards, 30 TD, 4 INT) is one of the top players in the country. He also does a lot with his legs, rushing for 582 yards and nine touchdowns. His ability to make plays all over the field makes him nearly impossible to slow down on defense. His favorite receiver all season has been WR Josh Huff (57 catches, 1,036 yards and 11 TD). Huff has terrific speed, and is able to get behind the defense for the big gain at any moment. Oregon has a lot of guys that can run the ball, as Byron Marshall (155 carries, 995 yards and 14 TD), Thomas Tyner (109 carries, 689 yards and 9 TD) and even De’Anthony Thomas (93 carries, 581 yards and 8 TD) are all threats to score any time they touch the ball. However, the Oregon defense has been terrific this season as well, ranking 25th in the nation in scoring defense (21.6 PPG). Ifo Ekpre-Olomu (78 tackles and 3 INT) is a lockdown cornerback that has the ability to completely take the opposing team's best receiver out of the game. Look for him to match up with Davis through most of the game, in what should be a terrific battle. This game has a chance to be the best non-BCS game, as the Longhorns players have talked about how much they want to win this game for Brown. If they are able to control their emotions early and not get down when the Ducks offense scores, then Texas has a great chance to win the game.

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